Last Tuesday, Bronny James was introduced as a new player for the historic Los Angeles Lakers franchise. At the press conference, the new number 9 of the gold and purple team said that he is "ready" to deal with the pressure of playing alongside his father.

The 19-year-old player who started out at South California University, will form the first father-son duo in NBA history when he puts on the Lakers jersey starting next October. This will be the start of the new 2024-2025 campaign. It will be LeBron's 22nd season in the League and 7th with the Lakers.

The Lakers' decision to sign the very young shooting guard has been received with much skepticism in some sectors of the club's fandom, even becoming a topic of debate among experts.

The question that has been asked in the NBA lately is whether the Lakers would have selected him if he weren't the son of King James.
Bronny, in the presence of his father LeBron, addressed that criticism with great personality and positivity at Tuesday's press conference at the team's practice facility.

"It's certainly an increased amount of pressure," the young player began his statement, "but, you know, I've dealt with this kind of stuff my whole life, so it's no different. It's more intense, no doubt. But I'll get through it," the rookie concluded bluntly.

In this cycle of uncertainty and criticism in Los Angeles, two other figures have emerged in the eye of the storm alongside Bronny himself: his new coach, JJ Reddick, and his father, LeBron James.

At the aforementioned press conference, Bronny was joined by new Lakers head coach, JJ Reddick, who was controversially appointed last month despite never having coached in the league.

The former shooting guard is friends with LeBron and partners in one of the most popular basketball podcasts in the United States, Mind The Game. 

Reddick did not want to echo the criticism, insisting that the young James had been recruited on his own merits: "Bronny has earned it, with his hard work, he has earned it with a lot of work."

Despite being a total institution and having fueled the G.O.A.T. debate, facing Michael Jordan on the same level, social media have been mocking through memes the Lakers number 23. 

The reason for the criticism includes the integrity of the franchise, with clear attacks on the possible case of "nepotism" with Bronny, and the conflict of interests with the hiring of Reddick, an absolutely rookie coach in the NBA.

However, many also argue that LeBron, who has just signed a two-year contract extension worth $103 million, reducing his salary to make room for new signings, deserves such decisions with his great performances on the court and his leadership of the team, despite he will be blowing out 40 candles next December.